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Records: the RC Papers the Domain
Diversification The Royal Company was already making a mint with bricks and now concrete, but the Royal Household was also going through something else rare at a hitherto astonishing rate: paper and ink. While Richard was thinking of a printing press from the very beginning, he was waiting to give the Chinese credit where it was due. In the meantime, his dictate of recording everything was making what little paper there was disappear altogether. For their own use, and maybe some sale afterward, the Royal Company would be expanding. Paper and ink were small-margin prestige industries, similar to eyeglasses at this point, but the “printing press” made all the difference. Richard laid out his vision – and the team knew it was going to change the western world, and in that, the whole world. There would be other development as well, near-concurrent – things that Richard was working on with the Royal Academy. Metal foundries, for one – but the most immediate element for the business end to focus on the paper. Each of these three subsections were assigned their own staff, all of whom quickly developed into specialists. Making Paper… The Royal Company was building on English know-how at this point, which was enough to make paper, but not much in the way of production capacity or even quality. It did, however, bring in several former London craftsmen that were at risk of losing their shops to the future the RC was about to roll out. The Royal Company seeded the conversation with a likely long-term direction: kenaf. Unless they could find something better, they were to begin finding land suitable for farming the crop for paper (and potentially other uses). In the short-term, however, they would stick to the wood pulp and cloth castoffs that were already in use for producing paper in select spots around Europe and the Middle East. The Royal Company took a conglomeration of best practices, patent the process in England, and immediately mechanized the use of waterpower, creating the first water papermill in England. Coupled with the co-developed press, this marked the beginning of the Printing Revolution (nearly two centuries prior to the Alt-U equivalent). Making Ink… Similar to paper, there were very few sources of ink in England at the time – and the Royal Company was looking for a source for mass use. They purchased and imported from several sources for experimentation, then went on to begin creating their own in London. Pressed for time: recreating the ''Printing Press…'' The Chinese had developed printing presses a long time ago – and the RANP credited them for the idea and improved on it with their own modifications, including movable type. They patented the process in England, insuring it wasn't caught and killed, then went to work on various size presses. A Voice to the Masses There was a moment, just a moment, where London wondered what they’d do with a printing press. That’s how long it took to collectively sink in. Printing, bringing the word to the streets, giving a voice to the masses (or sometimes an outlet to the oral minority), giving the common man a reason to learn to read. The impact of the printing press (much less one with movable type) couldn't be overstated. From education to advertising to politics, it was like throwing a match on kerosene. The possibility of mass producing knowledge was simply staggering to the public audience. From the Royal Academy – and London society – there were predictions of mass literacy, an explosion of schools, a true age of enlightenment. As people now looked back on that celebration of “Epiphany”, there was a realization of Richard’s statement. There was a distinct feeling that world really had changed that night. The presses themselves would be the next great durable good sold in the United Kingdom. The RC was preparing final versions of different sizes, from pamphlet-sized to large-book sized. The Royal Presses The RC was planning three major printing projects: * Bibles. In latin standard… and every other language, too. * Tax stamps. This would be a major revenue generator for England. * The London Herald newspaper. This would be the first daily circulated newspaper These would be revealed at the London Faire in July… Making an organization The Crown reached out for a consensus on existing stationary makers in London (and the few elsewhere in England). Surprisingly, this was only a year ahead of the Alt-Timeline founding. The character and nature of this founding was a bit different, coming into a landscape that already printing presses. Also, the other version would survive into modern times as a Livery Company, but right now, there was no guarantee anything was going to survive (though the Crown didn't exactly disclose that). With the burgeoning paper, ink and printing market, the Crown was looking to propel the market even further (especially since they held the patent in England). To that end, drumming up business and social momentum, they quietly sponsored the founding of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers. Category:Hall of Records Category:1377